Drop in inmates gives sheriff breathing room in jail

A year ago, El Paso County Sheriff Terry Maketa was desperate for a bigger jail.

He joined county officials and others to stump for a 1-percent sales tax voters rejected last fall to build a $75.5-million jail addition, among other things.

The Criminal Justice Center's population was pushing its 1,599-bed limit, and crowding in 2007 had prompted Maketa to pitch a giant tent for the overflow and stop taking new misdemeanor offenders.

But on Tuesday, Maketa was singing a different tune.

"We're in a situation we're not used to," he said. "We do have space."

Last summer, the inmate population peaked at 1,550 to 1,560. Since January, he said, the head count has dropped to 1,281 - the lowest since 2003. That includes roughly 100 undocumented workers held for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

"Last year I thought we were heading for a collision," Maketa said. "Now, I think we can stretch it out for three or four years before exceeding our cap again."

The decrease stems chiefly from two factors: the Department of Corrections backlog and the addition of more judges in the 4th Judicial District.

Last year, the jail housed more than 100 inmates awaiting transfer to a state prison. On Monday, it was 12.

DOC spokeswoman Katherine Sanguinetti said the statewide backlog stood at 95 this week, down from a high of more than 800 about a decade ago.

One reason for the decline is the recent addition of 1,400 private prison beds; recidivism programs also played a role, she said. The rate at which new prisoners are added also is going down, from 109 new inmates per month in 2006 to 12 per month this year, a level Sanguinetti called "an all-time historic low" for DOC.

She noted mandatory parole, a law that requires those leaving prison to report to parole officers, might have an impact. "When they're supervised, they're less likely to commit new crimes," she said, noting DOC has added parole officers in recent years, lowering case loads.

The District Court's addition of five judges over several years has sped up inmates' passage through the court system, resulting in shorter jail stays.

Lower inmate counts don't necessarily mean lower costs for Maketa, who said food might cost a little less but other costs, such as medical care, remain constant.

The big payoff, he said, is deputy and inmate safety. Instead of one deputy per 92 inmates, the ratio has fallen to one per 75, closer to the optimum level, he said.

"I'm not ready to declare victory," he said, "but it does provide some hope this is a trend."

Still, he added, "I did say we need a jail. I still believe we will need one. We haven't figured out exactly what all the factors are that have changed it (population), but how long will those last?"

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